


my reflection lies to me: that is not the man I want to see

by dancingassassin



Category: Gundam 00
Genre: AU of some sort, Ali being Ali, Ali is not nice, Implied Sexual Abuse, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2016-10-14
Packaged: 2018-08-22 07:49:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8278336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancingassassin/pseuds/dancingassassin
Summary: written for EmbryonicHarmonicAli has reconditioned Setsuna into what he once was and what better way to test his loyalty and ability than sending him after his former comrades?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EmbryonicHarmonic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmbryonicHarmonic/gifts).



“I’m sending you back to them, Soran.” Ali grinned down at the man before him – he was lumped on the floor of the steel prison Ali had been keeping him in. Soran was back to being his obedient little pet, it had just taken some serious work to get him there. Time and effort. “You know what you must do.”

Setsuna lifted his head off the floor, rusty colored eyes meeting Ali’s sharp green gaze. “…I understand…”

“When you return, I’ll reward you for your service to your god…”

The thought was the same as always, _there is no god_ , but he didn’t dare say that out loud. Instead he dragged himself to his feet and nodded. He was going to go back to Celestial Being.

Setsuna was going to do what Ali had ordered him to do.

 

* * *

 

 

It had been awhile since Tieria had been down planet side. He continued to dislike it for various reasons which boiled down to ‘space feels better’. But they had a mission down on the surface in three days’ time, therefore they were spending time out and about under the guise of acclimating to being on earth. Tieria was only really going along with it because Lockon was _insisting_ on it. The other man was calling it team building or something like that; and of course, Sumeragi had jumped at the idea. She insisted that it was important to strengthen bonds, especially in the wake of Setsuna being kidnapped by Ali al Saachez.

He couldn’t really argue that.

But he would have spent time with Lockon Stratos regardless.

And if it was a team building exercise, why was Allelujah doing something else?

“You with me, Tieria? You’re spacing out.” Lockon chuckled as they walked along the street. “That’s not like you.”

“Apologies. It seems that I’m caught in my thoughts today.” He adjusted his cardigan and then his glasses before peering up at Lockon. “Where are we going for this…team building?”

Lockon rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish expression passing over his face. “Well, I figured we’d grab lunch and then maybe go for a walk in that nature park the city has?”

That sounded sufficiently like a bonding experience, though again, he found himself wondering why Allelujah was not present for this – Tieria figured that he would enjoy a nice meal out and a walk through the park. After all, how often did the meisters of Celestial Being get to enjoy themselves down on earth?

“That sounds nice. Shall we be on our way then?” There was the ghost of a smile quirking his lips up.

“Yeah, lets.”

The walk to the restaurant led them through and area of town that Tieria would much rather have avoided. It wasn’t that he couldn’t handle himself (he could), but it would be foolish and unbefitting of gundam meisters to wind up in a fist fight in some back alley. Not that he assumed anything like that would happen, that was an even more foolish assumption.

Really, this area of town was dusty and dirty and it made him feel like people were watching him. It wasn’t uncommon for people to stare at him – Tieria blamed the red eyes and purple hair. Sumeragi said it was because people thought Tieria was pretty. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

“Heh…you really are lost in your thoughts, Tieria.” Lockon laughed, the sound light and good-natured. “Some food will do you good. We all need relaxation from time to time.”

He huffed as they walked. Relaxation was something he was still learning the finer points of; if given the chance, Tieria would work until he passed out while working.

Their walk continued in companionable silence, with Tieria edging closer and closer to Lockon because of the area they were in. But he could see the next area of town not even a block away. That was good. Then they’d get lunch.

But something caught Tieria’s attention, a soft whisper coming from an alley. He grabbed Lockon’s arm and gave him a look. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Lockon gave him a perplexed look. “I just hear the sounds of the city.”

But there it was again, clearer this time. A whisper. Tieria’s name.

“…now do you?” Tieria didn’t want to be the only one hearing that, the implications there were not ones he liked.

“Yeah…I do.” The expression on the man’s face shifted from benign confusion to something more protective, something a bit harder. “Let me go check it out.”

“Excuse me, Lockon Stratos, but if you’re deluded enough to think that you’re going to go off and do this on your own when you claimed that today was a _team building_ exercise…” Tieria walked past him, an almost haughty expression on his face.

He could hear Lockon sputtering something about ‘this isn’t part of the exercise’ and ‘Tieria don’t be so rash’. But he kept walking into the alley, crimson eyes settling onto the person who had spoken.

Setsuna F. Seiei.

But there was something different about him, about his demeanor, his appearance, everything. Tieria tilted his head to the side as he took in the changes; Setsuna was thinner than he had been, his muscles appearing far more sinewy and defined because of that loss, he was unkempt and seemingly not bothered by that, and there was a hollowness in his eyes and facial expression that gave Tieria chills.

“Tieria Erde.” His voice was still the same monotone, but an almost unhinged smile spread across Setsuna’s face, made only more disturbing when his eyes remained dead.

“Lockon. Go to the Ptolemy and get back-up. Now.” An order, he didn’t dare look back at the Irishman. No, he needed to keep his eyes on Setsuna. He didn’t want to get caught off guard.

“Tieria, I’m not leaving y–”

“ **Now**.”

He could hear Lockon turning and leaving. Tieria wasn’t sure why Setsuna had stayed still while Tieria told Lockon to leave, but it didn’t make him feel better about the situation. Not at all. His gut was telling him he should be running away, but duty told him he needed to speak with his colleague and bring him back to the Ptolemy. So Tieria stayed put.

“Setsuna F. Seiei.” He took a step closer. “I’m glad to see you’re alive and well.” Though he supposed ‘well’ might be pushing the definitions of the word.

“My name is Soran.”

And that was all the warning that Tieria had before Setsuna launched at him.

 

* * *

 

 

“Separate them…further disable Celestial whatever…” Ali stared down at Setsuna, watching him for any indications of tension or dissent. The mission would be postponed if he saw any.

“…yes sir.”

But Setsuna merely stayed on the ground, his gaze distant and almost blank. If he took issue with the mission to harm his former comrades, he was smart enough to hide it. Or Ali had successfully broken him back down into what he had been as a child. He wanted to fully believe it was the latter, but even he wasn’t that arrogant.

“You will leave in the morning.”

“…yes sir.”

Ali smirked as he crouched down, making sure he got into Setsuna’s vision. “And Soran…” He waited for Setsuna’s eyes to track back up to him, for them to have a little more focus. Ali wanted to make sure Setsuna paid attention to him. “…bring that ice princess back here. Got it?”

Really, it was Ribbons who wanted the purple one, Tiara or whatever. But Ali wanted to see how Setsuna handled being told to kidnap a comrade. To bring him here. To bring him to _Ali_.

There was a tiny bit of hesitation, Setsuna’s brows knit together for just a moment. But it was gone as quick as it had shown up. “Yes sir. I will bring Tieria Erde back here.”

“Good.”

 

* * *

 

 

 

Tieria gasped as Setsuna’s shoulder barreled into his chest. The pain was sharp and burning and he swore he felt something crunch inside of him. And worse, it knocked the wind from him. He tried to take in air, lungs refusing to work for the moment. He stumbled back, somehow managing to stay on his feet. He held a hand to his chest as he panted for breath.

But there was no chance to catch his breath. Setsuna was moving in for another attack, a punch aimed straight at Tieria’s diaphragm. He moved to the side, one hand trying to redirect Setsuna’s punch. He didn’t want to hurt Setsuna, he wanted to bring him back to the Ptolemy so they could figure out what had happened to him, his mind supplied brainwashing, at least with how he was behaving now. As much as he didn’t want to fight back, if Setsuna continued with his assault, Tieria would be forced to retaliate…

And even if Setsuna was incredibly skilled with hand to hand combat, Tieria hit far harder than anyone ever anticipated.

“Setsuna, what are you doing??” Tieria’s voice was pained as he tried to regain his balance and some semblance of control.

“I told you…my name is Soran.”

The grin was back, almost worse this time. Tieria grit his teeth as Setsuna came in again, balking when he saw something metallic glint in the sunlight. He noticed it in time to avoid anything potentially life threatening or seriously damaging, but the blade still grazed the arm he blocked with. Tieria finally threw a punch, straight toward Setsuna’s floating ribs. A disabling shot, one that would allow Tieria to control the flow of the fight and subdue his comrade. Or at least get things moving in that direction so when back-up got there, they could bring Setsuna home.

But Setsuna didn’t acknowledge the pain. Instead, he brought the knife down, the tip piercing into Tieria’s arm.

He gasped in pain, both hands going to stop the knife’s path. The action left his abdomen open, something that Tieria was vaguely aware of. Pain flared through his chest as Setsuna’s foot slammed against his sternum.

Tieria fell back several feet, body skidding across the dirty ground before smacking into the brick wall of some building. It felt like there was glass floating under his skin, digging into every ounce of his being. But he ignored that pain and instead tried to push to his feet. His vision blurred as he did so and he hissed under his breath.

“Why…why are you doing this?” Tieria only succeeded in getting to a sitting position, his back resting against the rough wall. At least Setsuna wouldn’t be able to attack from behind.

“Because he ordered it…” Setsuna was starting to walk closer, his feet crunching on the grit in the alley.

Tieria clenched his jaw as Setsuna approached. He tried to shift himself into a position where he could kick and disable Setsuna so he could be subdued, but his chest was aching to the point that he could barely think. Still, he had to make an attempt. He could hold out until Lockon returned with back-up. He would be okay.

He braced his hands on the dirty ground. Setsuna was just about in range, one more step and Tieria would attack. He took that final step and Tieria kick up with his left straight to Setsuna’s groin. The action winded him again, the pain in his chest overwhelming him to the point that his vision went grey and fuzzy around the edges. But Setsuna was coughing in pain and dropping to a knee. Tieria figured that would buy him at least a minute of time to try and get up and get in control again.

Setsuna shrugged the attack off, his face twisting into a frown. It was clear that he was in pain, at least to Tieria, he was scowling and his breath was coming in sharper pants. He gasped as Setsuna hooked his left foot, his body following the appendage. He was on his back and Setsuna was standing over him. Tieria’s eyes went wide as Setsuna crouched over him, the expression in Setsuna’s eyes was chilling and nothing like his usual self. Before Tieria could open his mouth and plead, Setsuna punched him hard and the world went black.

 

* * *

 

 

Ali was waiting. This was the first mission he’d sent Setsuna on since he’d been kidnapped and reconditioned. He wanted to make sure it went smoothly. And if it didn’t, he wanted to be in a position where he could sweep out and reclaim Setsuna again.

And then start the reconditioning process all over again.

He heard one of the doors whir open and he lifted his gaze from the data-pad he was reading from. A smirk passed over his face when he saw Setsuna enter the room, the ice princess slung over his shoulder. He was even more pleased to note that the ice princess was bound and gagged as a precaution. Good.

“Where do you want him?” Setsuna motioned to the man on his shoulder.

“Holding cell 2.” Ali stretched lazily and let Setsuna do all the heavy lifting for now. He got to his feet, unable to hide his grin as Setsuna returned to him. “…and now…come with me. It’s time for your reward.”

And without question, Setsuna followed him.


End file.
